How are the mighty fallen

Tell it not in South Jaman, publish it not in streets of Ghana; lest the daughters of the circumspect NDC rejoice, lest the daughters of the revolution—PNDC—triumph!!!

When the self-styled Oketekyie Major (rtd) Boakye Djan was ferried from his self-imposed exile in London to Ghana by the out-gone NPP government to testify at the NRC, many discerning observers knew it was just for a singular motive: to siphon incriminating evidence from a man who was deeply involved with the AFRC regime to publicly discredit Rawlings, his comrades, and ultimately, his revolution.

Rawlings, the Tsikatas, and the Awhois who starred prominently during the hearings of the commission must look back today on events and nod their heads like the lizard that fell from the high Iroko tree in praise to no-one but itself. Maybe, more than that, the ultimate who watches in secret foresaw the diabolic plans of their detractors and provided them with his ultimate shield. The NRC was a complete sham.

Unable to achieve his own goal of reasserting himself on the political scene and that of helping the NPP in their wider scheme of discrediting the PNDC and the AFRC of which he was a part in the hope that it certainly will affect the fortunes of the NDC, Boakye Djan had to return to his London base, where only heavens know what he did there for a living in the last 30 years, since deserting a revolution he started.

Warn you, the revolution is still on course and we shall celebrate its 30th landmark in the next couple of days.

No sooner had the botched connivance with the NPP in the NRC saga subsided than the man appeared with a book in his hand with half-truths. The timing was good. It was a political season and meant to test the waters for a re-launch from a self-imposed exile. The NPP managed to buy airtime for the one-time publicist of the AFRC, a title he has been holding onto since the demise of the AFRC like Cubans on rafters trying to cross the Atlantic to escape from a revolution they did not start, , to sell his stuff. But his pitch failed miserably. On the day of the launch, he barely sold ten copies of his book, apart from his NPP cronies who purchased a few copies to decorate their shelves with.

Then came the shocker when the man reemerged but this time as a politician on a political platform codenamed Platform for Independent National Alternatives (PINA), a secret wing of the NPP, to announce his parliamentary candidacy, departing from an earlier speculation he was tipped to lead PINA for the 2008 general elections as its presidential candidate. That was a highly calculated political machination to split votes in constituencies around the country, especially where the NPP leadership foresaw NDC’s unchallenged hold and others where there are no clear alternatives to both the NPP and the NDC, but where constituents were displeased with both parties and wanted something new Indeed, it was a good idea to provide a political alternative to the NPP and the NDC. The CPP and the others like Obed Asamoah’s party, I can’t remember the name of the party, I bet the man is more popular than his own party, were no credible than their leaders. What was not clear, however, was how the former military officer was going to use his new influence in the legislature, if he was to win.

I cleared my desk the previous day at work, eager to be at the International Press Center to listen to the former military strongman launch his campaign and tell Ghanaians what he had in stock to bring on board to help transform the lives of his constituents and Ghanaians. But he was more concerned about the degeneration in national politics than the lives of the constituents he wanted to curtail his 30 years in exile to save.

The months became weeks, and the weeks gave way to days. Lo and behold, when the D-day came and the chosen ones were be paraded in South Jaman and the streets of Ghana, the military strongman went AWOL with only 8.8% of the total ballot cast on his own turf.

Oketekyie Barimah Major (rtd) Kojo Boakye Djan, shall we, by the chronicle of events, now call you Major (rtd) Kojo Boakye Djan, the 2008 contestant of the South Jaman seat instead of the spokesman of the defunct AFRC?

Anyway, long live the spirit of the AFRC, the PNDC and the NDC; for in succession, the AFRC gave birth to them all. Long live the red gold green and long live Ghana!

Ben Otoo.